L A T E S T      N E W S

BJP to corner govt over Lokpal Bill 

New Delhi: The second day of Parliament’s Budget Session on Tuesday is expected to be stormy with the opposition BJP planning to move a motion for suspension of Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha for discussion on Lokpal Bill. 

The motion, to be moved by Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House Arun Jaitley, comes after the government stated that it plans to take up the Lokpal Bill in the second part of the Budget Session beginning April 24. 

The BJP is however demanding a discussion on the issue today itself, saying it wants an “adequate reply” from the government. 

Discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President for her address to Parliament is on the agenda for today. 

The Lok Sabha had cleared the Lokpal Bill on December 27 in the extended Winter Session. However, the Bill couldn't be passed in the Rajya Sabha and both sides accused each other of choreographing chaos to scuttle the legislation.

PM to host UPA dinner tonight

New Delhi: With speculations rife for mid-term polls and UPA allies giving a tough time to the Congress, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is hosting a dinner on Tuesday for coalition constituents. 

The dinner was originally scheduled for Monday but was postponed till today. It will be held at PM’s official residence -- 7, Race Course Road. 

The dinner diplomacy comes in the wake of Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee keeping the government on tenterhooks by making common cause with non-UPA parties on a range of issues.

Miraculous escape for AI passengers

NEW DELHI: Over hundred people aboard Air India's AI-614 flight had a miraculous escape on Monday when the tail of the aircraft hit the runway at a very high speed while landing. The incident occurred at 8.30am when the plane was flying into Mumbai from Ahmedabad with 121 passengers.

An apparent miscalculation by the pilots led to the aircraft not touching down at the correct angle, leading to the tail strike. Luckily, no one was hurt.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a probe into the incident. "I have sought details from the airline," DGCA chief Bharat Bhushan said.

Sources added that the two pilots, including a woman commander, would not be flying till the report was out so that necessary correctional training (called refresher), if required, was undertaken by them before being allowed to fly again.

"Mostly, tail strikes occur during a landing when a captain flares the aircraft over and above the prescribed angle. This can be serious as the speed of an aircraft (like in the Monday's incident) during landing is over 250 kmph and the impact can even lead to the plane breaking apart," sources said.